Vikrant Massey has been friends with the unconventional for so long that it’s the quintessential that makes him nervous. Naturally, he was hesitant to board Aankhon ki Gustaakhiyan, his upcoming romantic drama opposite debutante Shanaya Kapoor. “The last time I did something like this was Broken But Beautiful, directed by Santosh Singh, who has directed me in this as well! Though I did Haseen Dillruba, which also had romance, it was a thriller. But this is a quintessential Bollywood love story with lip-sync songs. I told my producers that I have never done lip-sync songs. Nor have I outrightly romanced someone on screen. I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull it off,” he begins.
(From left) Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor in Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan
But his body of work is proof enough that he loves a challenge. With Aankhon ki Gustaakhiyan, the challenges were many, the biggest being his character of a visually-challenged man. “Eyes play such an integral role in a romance. So, I wondered how I would be able to do that. But as much as I was jittery about taking it up, it also felt exciting. Unfortunately, in the world of cinema, visually-challenged people haven’t been represented rightly enough. The dignity they deserve and the challenges that eventually become part of their life are not shown. So, to play this authentically was the biggest challenge,” he shares.
The film also fits perfectly into the actor’s pursuit of collaborating with debut voices, Massey points out. “It is human nature to get complacent sometimes. If you observe my filmography, you will note that if I am doing four films a year, [at least in one film], I collaborate with a first-time writer-director. It is so that I can unlearn things and recalibrate myself,” he says, adding that his new work made sure he was surrounded by newcomers. Besides Kapoor and the director, who is making his film debut with Aankhon ki Gustaakhiyan, “most of the HoDs were first-timers”. “You learn so much from them that a lot of things that are redundant in you get removed,” he says.
It’s natural for a newcomer to feel the pressure of sharing screen space opposite an established actor, but Massey tells us that he, in fact, felt the pressure opposite Kapoor. “Shanaya is such a good person. I hope I am able to justify her dreams and aspirations, has a good time working with me, and it justifies her wait. She is extremely talented, hardworking and sincere. She knew everyone’s lines in the film,” he says, adding that working with Kapoor inspired him. “The amount of involvement and fire she had completely dissolved all my complacency, if there was any. She comes from film royalty but is so much more than that.”
Vikrant Massey’s romance-driven roles
>> Love Hostel (2022)
>> Haseen Dillruba (2021)
>> Chhappak (2020)
>> Ginny Weds Sunny (2020)
>> Cargo (2019)
>> Broken But Beautiful 1 & 2 (2018-19)
